1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a relay apparatus, a relay method, and a recording medium storing a relay program. More specifically, it relates to a relay apparatus for relaying communication between a wireless terminal and a terminal on the other end, a relay method for the same, and a recording medium storing a relay program for the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, for example, as in an IP telephone via a wireless LAN, a mobile terminal that performs a telephone conversation via wireless communication has become widespread. The mobile terminal that performs a telephone conversation via wireless communication enables a telephone conversation with a terminal on the other end connected to a wired network by, for example, performing wireless communication with a relay apparatus (e.g., an access point of a wireless LAN, etc.) (see e.g. JP-A-2001-28773).
Further, a mobile terminal has not only a function of performing a telephone conversation, but also functions of browsing a website and transmitting/receiving an E-mail by making an access to the Internet. In particular, recently, the innovation of a mobile terminal as a terminal accessible to the Internet has been advanced rapidly, and a mobile terminal has a function as a digital camera, a function for executing application software, or a function as a global positioning system (GPS) (see e.g. JP 2001-346246 A). The mobile terminal has gone beyond the framework as a terminal used on the Internet, and now is developing into equipment having a function as a personal digital assistant (PDA). Using such a mobile terminal, various solutions have been proposed.
Here, the JP-A-2001-28773 discloses a communication system that uses an already-existing network to transmit a simple one-way message transmission at a low cost. More specifically, a wireless terminal as a transmission source accesses a relay apparatus so as to transmit communication data to the relay apparatus. The relay apparatus adds the number of the relay apparatus to the communication data transmitted from the wireless terminal so as to form the data to be transmitted. The relay apparatus transmits, to a one-way service server, the thus formed data to be transmitted. The one-way service server obtains position information of the relay apparatus from the number of the relay apparatus in the data transmitted from the relay apparatus. The one-way service server transmits the obtained position information and the transmitted data to a terminal on the other end. The terminal on the other end displays the transmitted position information and the transmitted data.
The JP-A-2001-346246 discloses a mobile terminal having a function as a GPS. More specifically, the mobile terminal has a function of obtaining position information of the terminal itself, and transmits the position information thus obtained to a terminal on the other end. The terminal on the other end obtains map data, and displays the obtained map data together with the position information thus transmitted thereto.
However, though the JP-A-2001-28773 described above discloses that a relay apparatus adds the number of the relay apparatus itself to communication data transmitted from a wireless terminal, and a one-way service server obtains position information of the relay apparatus from the number of the relay apparatus and transmits the thus obtained position information of the relay apparatus to a terminal on the other end, it does not disclose that the relay apparatus controls the communication between the wireless terminal and the terminal on the other end according to the position information of the wireless terminal.
Besides, to control a communication between a wireless terminal as a transmission source and a terminal on the other end as a transmission destination according to position information of the wireless terminal and position information of the terminal on the other end, generally, as described in the JP-A-2001-346246, it is necessary that the wireless terminal and the terminal on the other end should be provided with an additional function as a GPS so that the wireless terminal and the terminal on the other end obtain position information of themselves, and the position information thus obtained should be transmitted to the relay apparatus. In other words, the applications of the wireless terminal and the terminal on the other end have to be changed.